This application is a continuation in part of applicant's previous application, Ser. No. 666,741, filed Mar. 25, 1976 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,238, and is principally concerned with the use of a movable, controllable nozzle for a pneumatic planter.
The recent increase in productivity of the agricultural community has largely been made possible by the development of larger and more efficient and effective production machinery. Some of the increase has been accomplished simply by increases in size. For example, a row-crop harvester which once was useful to harvest two rows of grain is expanded to harvest four or six rows. But other--and often greater advances have been accomplished by a change of methods of operation. My invention falls into the latter class.
For many years, certain crops such as field corn and soybeans have been planted in rows by means of a planter rolling on the ground and injecting one or more seeds into the ground at periodic intervals timed by the rotation of one of the wheels. Multiple-row planters are simply the multiplication of the system.
The old system works reasonably well. The width of the row spacing can be varied--although somewhat clumsily in most equipment--by moving the individual planter devices closer together or farther apart. However, one big disadvantage is that often in the spring the soil is not dry enough to support the tractor and planter without a great deal of packing together and without the tractor wheels picking up great clumps of mud, and the other attendant problems of too moist earth. At such times, planting is often delayed until a date so late that maturity before frost in the northern latitudes becomes a problem.
My device, by its adaptation to being airborne by helicopter or airplane, will avoid the moisture problem. Further, my device can inject seeds into the soil at an extremely fast rate so that large fields can be planted very rapidly, again increasing the productivity. By the use of a controllable, movable nozzle for injecting the seed, it is possible to sow the seeds over a reasonably wide area and to provide for the use of the device in seeding row crops, or at least in planting the seeds fairly reasonably in rows.